Sport utility vehicles may be equipped with a removable roof that functions to cover the passenger compartment and may also be removed to provide an open-air driving experience. Removable roofs may be one-piece shells, or may have panels made of textile materials or rigid panels that are attached to roof rails and roof bows.
Roof racks are commonly provided on sport utility vehicles that have a hardtop roof. A roof rack provides added cargo carrying capability for the vehicle above the passenger compartment.
Roof racks are not normally provided on sport utility vehicles that have a removable roof because the roof rack interferes with removal and installation of the removable roof. While one-piece removable roof may be provided with a roof rack, when the roof shell is removed the roof rack must also be removed and stored. Roof racks must be assembled to the roof of a vehicle in such a way as to avoid water leakage and wind noise. Roof racks are generally not designed to be selectively removable but are normally permanently assembled to the roof and remain attached to the roof and increase drag even if nothing is being carried on the roof rack.
This disclosure is directed to solving the above problems relating to providing a removable roof rack on a vehicle having a roof formed by a plurality of rigid removable roof panels as summarized below.